| 45 |

| 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐞 |

"HRG!" Castle pushes me with such force that it's enough to knock me back.

A groan leaves my mouth at the impact of my ass hitting the floor. The groan turns into a growl within seconds as irritation takes over me.

"What the fuck?" I glare up at Castle.

"Sorry! Sorry!" He quickly grabs my arms, pulling me up on my feet, fumbling as his eyes roam over me. "Are you hurt?"

"Not really since I fell on a really cushioned floor."

Castle looks down at the tiled floor of the kitchen which is so not cushioned. He winces.

"I didn't even do anything new this time." I cross my arms against my chest, glaring at him.

"You..." He plays with the drawstrings of his hoodie. "pounced on me."

I raise my eyebrows. "Again," I say. "Nothing new."

"It was more sudden this time."

"No, it wasn't."

"It was."

"I'm pretty sure I did not pounce on you."

"Fine. You more like threw yourself at me."

My eyes narrow. "I did not throw myself at you."

"Okay, never mind! Never mind! Forget it. I'm sorry for pushing you."

I raise my chin, looking intently into his eyes. "There's only one way to make up for that."

He catches the look in my eyes.

His eyes widen.

"Holly, don't you dare—" He moves to escape.

My hands fly and grab the front of his hoodie.

"Holly—" I push him back. His back hits the wall of the kitchen.

He hisses. "Holly! Your dad just left the kitchen. He might be on his way right now. He can't—Ohhh."

My tongue finds his mouth, slowly dragging it across his lips.

"Holly, no, we shouldn't—Ahh!"

My teeth clamp on his bottom lip, drawing it into my mouth.

His warm breath falls onto my face as I bite onto his lips, drawing out all kinds of noises from his mouth.

"You were saying?" I murmur, pressing my body into his so he can feel every inch of me.

His eyes flutter. He's barely able to keep them open. "Your dad..."

I roll my hips so a very certain spot of mine rubs against a very certain spot of his.

His hands fly to my shoulders, gripping them hard. A soft gasp leaves his mouth when I roll my hips again.

"What about my dad?"

His chest heaves deeply as if he's barely able to breathe.

"Uh...what...dad? Right! Him! Holly, your dad. He's gonna—Ohhh..." There's a roughness to his voice that turns me on even more.

His moans sound so sexy right now. The urge to draw more pretty sounds from his throat takes over me.

"We should tell my dad to fuck off, right?" I whisper.

He slightly pants when I repeat the same slow torturous gesture of dragging my center across his groin. "Oh yeah...Wait no—"

I crash my mouth against his. His surprised moan slips into my mouth.

"You make such pretty sounds." I groan into his mouth.

His hands slide down from my shoulder, down my arms and around my waist. He pulls me closer. Our tongues tangle with each other as our mouths grind hard against each other.

Every inch of my body is on fire and I swear to God, if I can't have this guy in every way possible, I'm gonna regret my whole life.

The pressure between my legs keeps building up with each stroke of our tongues against each other. My mind feels like we're high above in the clouds with no sense of the real world.

God knows how I will keep patience for too long with this guy. Whenever I kiss him, the need to do it more keeps me crazy throughout the day. It especially drives me mad when he's right in front of me, but I can't touch him in any way because either my parents are there or we're at school.

"I finally found my phone!" Dad announces.

Castle and I scramble apart. We have about two seconds to run to different corners of the kitchen, fix ourselves, and regulate our breathing.

Dad enters the kitchen, waving his phone in his hand, smiling proudly.

"Where was it?" I ask, picking up a glass of water from the kitchen counter.

His face turns sheepish. "Under my pillow."

I shake my head at him. "And you call yourself responsible."

"I am responsible." He gives me a pointed look. "I raised you."

I snicker into my glass, "What a great job you did."

"Shut up." He ignores me. "Let's continue making dinner now that I've found my phone. Oh also, Holly?"

"Hmm?"

"That was Castle's glass."

"Oh." I blink.

I definitely did not know that.

"I'll fill him another one," I tell Dad.

"I can do it myself," Castle speaks up.

Dad nods. "Alright. Make sure to keep yourself hydrated." He holds up his fist. "Water is essential."

Castle nods. Discreetly, I watch him as he slowly licks his lips no doubt the taste of me still lingering on his mouth like the taste of his is on mine.

We soon get to making dinner.

In the beginning, I try helping but the two men make it clear that they don't want a female in the kitchen. I can practically feel them bonding some eternal fucking relationship over cooking.

After fifteen minutes of being ignored by both of them, I drop onto a stool in frustration and watch them, letting them do all the work.

They move around in the kitchen so fluidly as if they've been working with food since they were born. Vegetables are cut at a rapid speed, pans and pots sizzle or boil food, dishes are seasoned, cutlery and plates are arranged.

It looks so...professional.

And the way they're talking...

"Am I supposed to put in the leaves now?" Dad asks, standing at the stove.

"Let the water boil first. It'll absorb more." Castle replies, not taking his eyes off the carrots he's carving into different shapes.

Dad gazes at Castle as if he gave him the perfect answer to cure cancer and stop Global warming.

"Let me tell you one thing Castle," Dad says, raising one finger. "Whenever you're cooking, make sure to wash the dishes there and then because—"

"It won't pile up and make your kitchen look dirty," Castle finishes his sentence.

"Exactly." Dad points a finger at him. "Because true happiness is—"

"A clean kitchen," Castle says.

"Exactly!" Dad exclaims, looking proud. I look a bit closer at his face—what the fuck? Are those tears in his eyes?

Figuring it's my mind playing tricks, I look away from him and look at Castle.

And then can't stop looking.

Because, damn. Watching your guy cook turns you on on a whole different level.

Castle's sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, the knife gripped perfectly and poised as he cuts. The contrast between the concentrated frown on his forehead and the easy movement of his hand makes me stare.

He actually does enjoy cooking, huh? So much that he hasn't even glanced at me once the whole time I sat here.

In Dad's case tho...

I catch both of them looking at each other with some longing look that confuses the fuck out of me. Why the hell are they looking at each other like that? What's going on?

Mom chooses the exact moment to slide into the stool beside me.

"Amazing, isn't he?" She whispers to me, dreamily.

I frown. "Uh...he's not appropriate for your age."

She elbows me. "I meant your dad."

"Oh."

She gazes at Dad with a smile on her face.

"They're barely paying us any attention," I grumble to her.

"Because they're enjoying," Mom says.

"They make me feel like I don't even exist in this room," I complain.

"Can't you see, Holly?" She nudges my arm, making me look at Castle and Dad again. "They're literally loving this moment."

I give a look of confusion.

"Look at their faces," Mom says. "I've seen that look on your face too."

"When?" I scrunch my eyebrows.

"When you dance." She replies. She looks at me. "Haven't you told me a lot of times that you can't help but forget the world around you when you dance?"

"I did."

She nods. "It's the same thing for them." She sighs, resting her chin on her palm, and her elbow on the counter. "Your dad would've been a great chef of some big restaurant if he wasn't forced to choose another major. Had to bring money and put food on the table after all."

"But he's bringing money and cooking at the same time. It's a win-win." I say.

"Yeah, it is." Mom bites her bottom lip. "But it's not the same, you know? Castle is like your dad. I know for sure that your dad sees himself in Castle." Mom looks at me. "That's why your dad warmed up to Castle out of all boys really quick."

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "How?"

"Castle's forced to put aside something he loves so he can bring money to the house. You wouldn't understand. You had everything growing up."

Ouch.

I don't why that hurt since she's telling the truth. My parents always gave me everything I wanted. I don't remember ever feeling short of something as a child. But then when she talks about Castle like that and then compares me to his situation, it makes me feel like I haven't experienced real hardship yet.

It makes me feel like I had more than necessary when there are others who can't even dream of it.

But then again, it's not my fault that my parents brought me up like that.

Castle's case is different. His dad is unknown, his mom is sick. Castle's still seventeen, trying his best to survive with whatever he's got.

I still don't know a lot about his past but I'm hoping he'll soon open up to me about it.

I know for sure that the jerk in the park wasn't just "someone". The motherfucker who touched Castle was definitely someone from Castle's past. I don't know why Castle lied to me about him, but I hope to find out soon.

Another look at Castle, and something in my chest squeezes. This happens a lot. I look at him and then there's this sudden ache in my chest as if something's filling up, congesting me.

I'm not sure whether I like it or hate it. I've never felt this way before.

The more I look at Castle, the more he stands out to me. My surroundings fade and the noises in the kitchen dim down.

Then he looks up at me.

An electric jolt passes through us. He's the first to look away from me, hanging his head low as he whisks eggs in a bowl. I continue staring, not a bitch from keeping eye contact.

I watch as Dad, with his own hands, feeds Castle to make him taste whatever's cooking in the pot. Dad does it so lovingly that for a moment, I forget the age gap between them and that one of them is my dad and the other is my boyfriend.

Castle nods in approval. "Perfect."

Then I watch as Castle feeds my dad the same way.

My mouth gapes open. Is that cheating? Is feeding your dad lovingly with your own hands considered cheating? 

Dad nods his approval. "Perfect."

After another thirty minutes, dinner is finally ready and we ladies are still being ignored as the men bring plates and dishes to the dining table, arranging it in a way professionals do.

When the last steaming dish is placed on the table, Castle and Dad stand with their hands on their hips, observing their work laid out on the dining table. They don't look away for a long time as if it's all gonna disappear if they look away.

Slowly, they turn their heads and look at each other.

"I wish I could adopt you," Dad murmurs, hints of tears in his eyes.

Castle's mouth parts open in surprise.

He stutters. "I-I don't know what to say."

"How about let's eat while the food's still warm?" Dad smiles, putting his hand on Castle's shoulder.

He nods, wordlessly.

Finally, both men realize the very feminine presence in the room.

I paste on a big smile. "Hello! I don't think you remember me but, Hi! I'm your daughter, Holly Amanda Versace. And this is your wife, the one you married."

Dad furrows his eyebrows. "Stop acting like that."

"Glad to see you finally remembered you had a wife and a daughter."

"Don't talk nonsense, Holly. Come and eat now."

I give him a small glare before taking a seat at the dining table across from Castle.

I look at Castle who's sitting like the perfect good boy, waiting patiently as Mom and Dad serve food around the table.

Let's see...how can you get back at your boyfriend who's forgotten your existence for nearly two hours?

Oh right! Of course, how can I forget?

When Castle finally starts eating and the room goes quiet with us busy with our own food, that's when my foot rises, sliding up his leg.

"HRG!"

★・・・・・・★

I HAD SO MUCH WRITING THIS!

I just LOVE Holly's dad and Castle scenes! It's nice to see Elias being such a father figure to Castle and them bonding :) 

Words: 2,100

Date of publishing: 7th May 2023